Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.”

Excerpt From “Breathless” by Scott Prussing

February 23, 2012 — Pat Bertram

College freshman Leesa Nyland has been fascinated by vampires since she was three years old. That’s when her mom started acting weird, refusing to go outside during the day and insisting the sunlight hurt her skin because she had been bitten by a one-fanged vampire…

But fascinated doesn’t mean Leesa believes—any more than she believes in blue fire, people who live for centuries, and kisses that can kill. When her beloved older brother suddenly disappears, she is forced to confront all these and more.

She must also decide what to do about her mysterious new boyfriend. She knows Rave likes her a lot—so why won’t he kiss her?

Breathless is the first book in The Blue Fire Saga, a modern fantasy romance series in the mold of Twilight and Vampire Diaries, but filled with enough new ideas to excite even the most devoted fans. Laced with passion, warm humor, suspense and supernatural danger, Breathless will alternately bring a smile to your face and make your heart pump faster.

Excerpt:

Leesa couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with a guy who was probably a vampire. She wondered if Rave could have been wrong about Stefan. What the heck, she thought—might as well ask. If Stefan meant her harm, she couldn’t stop him in any case.

“Stefan, are you a vampire?”

A look of surprise flashed across his pallid face. “That’s a strange question to ask someone,” he said after a moment. “What makes you think that?”

Leesa kept her eyes on his face, focusing on his mouth to avoid his eyes. “Just something someone said.”

“Really? I’m surprised—not many people believe in vampires nowadays. Do you believe in them, Leesa?”

Leesa thought about how to answer that. “Let’s say I’m keeping a very open mind on the subject,” she said. “But you haven’t answered my question.”

“If I said yes, would you be frightened of me?”

Leesa shifted her gaze to his eyes. They were black mirrors now. “Should I be?”

Stefan smiled, and his eyes became inviting pools once again. “No. I would never hurt you, Leesa, nor do anything against your will. I seek more from you than that.”

Leesa’s brain raced. He still hadn’t admitted he was a vampire, but he hadn’t denied it, either. She struggled to put it all together. What did he mean he sought more from her than that? More than what? She wondered if she could use whatever it was to get the answers she sought about her brother. Before she could think of a way to ask, another voice broke the silence.

“Get away from her, vampire.”

Leesa could not believe her ears—and eyes. Of all the times for Rave to show up! She silently cursed herself for staying out here in the open with Stefan. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been, of course. Thinking, that is. She’d been too engrossed in prying information from Stefan. Now what was she supposed to do?

Rave loomed above them, barely ten feet from where they sat, his eyes locked on Stefan. She could see the tension in his limbs, and the tiny blue flames flickering from his fingertips. Beside her, Stefan uncoiled slowly to his feet. Two wicked-looking fangs dropped from his upper teeth and a menacing growl rumbled from his throat. Leesa sat paralyzed, unable to will her muscles to make her stand up.

“I said get away from her, Stefan.”

Stefan’s face was a mask. “Do I know you, volkaane?” He began unbuttoning his long coat, using only one hand.

Rave followed suit, unzipping his raincoat with equal care.

Leesa felt as if she’d become invisible. Her eyes darted back and forth between Rave and Stefan. With his pointed fangs and ominous growl, Stefan seemed by far the more dangerous. But she’d seen Rave in action and had felt the heat of his inner fire.

She suddenly realized the rain had stopped. It seemed she could hear every drop falling from the tree and spattering onto the soggy leaves below. Surprise, Rave had said. That’s what usually made the difference in these contests. With Stefan distracted by their conversation, Rave could have had all the surprise he needed, but obviously had not wanted to risk any harm to her.

She could not let this continue, could not take the chance of Rave getting hurt. Hunting vampires was what he did, but he had already given up his advantage and would be distracted by her presence as well. She remembered him saying how powerful Stefan was. No way could she let Rave fight him under these conditions. Nor did she want Stefan destroyed, for he might have the answers she needed. No, this was a fight she had to stop.

She forced herself to her feet. Sucking in a deep breath, she stepped between them….

***

Scott Prussing is the author of the three books in the paranormal romance series The Blue Fire Saga (Breathless, Deathless, and Helpless) as well as two mystery/suspense novels available in ebook form (Unturned Stones and Tangled Webs). He is also the author of the teen romance ebook Mine: A Love Story, whose plot is based on the hit songs of Taylor Swift.

Scott has degrees in psychology from the University of Connecticut and Yale University. After graduate school, Scott was smart enough to move to beautiful San Diego, California, where he lives just four blocks from the ocean. In addition to writing, Scott enjoys going to the movies (not renting!), hiking, riding his bike along the coast, and golf. He remains one of the few people in the United States without a cell phone.

Books by Pat Bertram

Available online wherever books and ebooks are sold.

Thirty-seven years after being abandoned on the doorstep of a remote cabin in Colorado, Becka Johnson returns to try to discover her identity, but she only finds more questions. Who has been looking for her all those years? And why are those same people interested in fellow newcomer Philip Hansen?

When twenty-five-year-old Mary Stuart learns she inherited a farm from her recently murdered grandparents -- grandparents her father claimed had died before she was born -- she becomes obsessed with finding out who they were and why someone wanted them dead.

In quarantined Colorado, where hundreds of thousands of people are dying from an unstoppable, bio-engineered disease, investigative reporter Greg Pullman risks everything to discover the truth: Who unleashed the deadly organism? And why?

Bob Stark returns to Denver after 18 years in SE Asia to discover that the mother he buried before he left is dead again. At her new funeral, he sees . . . himself. Is his other self a hoaxer, or is something more sinister going on?

Grief: The Great Yearning is not a how-to but a how-done, a compilation of letters, blog posts, and journal entries Pat Bertram wrote while struggling to survive her first year of grief. This is an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.